Myth: Muscle turns to fat if you stop lifting weights

This is a persistent misconception supported by many examples of former weight lifters who have gotten fat after they stopped working out. But this conclusion mistakes coincidence with causality. Muscle can no more turn into fat than lead can turn into gold. They are different types of tissue. But if you get in the habit of eating more to support the extra calorie burn that strength training provides and then fail to dial back the eating when you stop strength training, those extra calories will be stored as fat, not because you stopped strength training, but because you’re taking in more calories than you are using.